ENCE advance to the Semi-finals of EPL

ESL Pro League is slowly but surely nearing its end as we are delving into the Quarter-finals of the event today. The first Quarter-final brawl was set to be a clash between the Spanish Movistar Riders and the European-international ENCE. Movistar Riders impressed everybody in the group stage after making an undefeated run in their group as the second team alongside NaVi. ENCE, however, have been no joke themselves so far in the ESL Pro League Season 15. A solid performance in their group, as well as a recent victory against fnatic in the playoffs, have more than proved their potential in the upcoming future. Just as one could have expected, the brawl between Movistar Riders and ENCE started as a close one on Mirage. The two maps following Mirage, however, were all ENCE. With confidence, it was ENCE that claimed a 2-1 victory and secured a spot in the Semi-finals.

The first map was set to take place on Mirage and was picked by ENCE. With ENCE known for their aggressive T-sided approaches and strategies, Mirage seemed the perfect pick against Movistar Riders. Whilst this may be the case, Movistar Riders are themselves more than capable on Mirage which quickly proved once map one got underway. Very little separated the two teams from early on and the first half ended as close as possible at the scoreline of 8-7. After having switched sides the brawl ensued. Once again it was a thrilling and close affair between the two rosters. Whilst it was almost impossible to separate the two teams in terms of mechanical skill, it seemed as if "alex" and Movistar Riders' T-side had the upper hand when it came to reading their opponent. Thanks to great mid-round calling from the IGL of Movistar Riders, as well as a phenomenal performance from rifler "DeathZz", Movistar Riders managed to secure the victory on Mirage at the scoreline of 16-14.

The second map of the series was picked by Movistar Riders and took place in the heights of Vertigo. Whilst the first map of the series was a close and two-sided affair, the same could not be said for Vertigo. A phenomenal defense from ENCE on their CT-side proved a nightmare for the Spaniards to break through from early on. Amazing reads, as well as impactful plays from the Danish IGL of ENCE in "Snappi", made sure that ENCE could secure a 13-2 lead going into the second half of Vertigo. A legendary comeback was required by Movistar Riders in order for them to have a slight chance in map two of the series, and it never came to fruition. At the dominant scoreline of 16-2, it was ENCE and "Snappi" to silence Movistar Riders and force a third and final map of the series.

The third and final map of the series was set to take place on Nuke, a map that arguably favors the ENCE roster, seeing that they are currently sitting on a 91% win rate in the past three months (11 maps). It was also ENCE to hit the ground running on Nuke. Building on their momentum from Vertigo, ENCE managed to build an early 7-2 lead before being answered back by the Spaniards. At the halftime scoreline of 10-5, the Movistar Riders managed to stay in the game somewhat before switching sides. The second half started an oppressive offense from ENCE. With fast-paced executions, Movistar Riders were left behind by "Snappi" and his fellow Europeans. At the scoreline of 16-5, it was ENCE to claim Nuke and take home the Bo3-series against Movistar Riders.

The 2-1 victory means that ENCE will advance to the Semi-finals of ESL Pro League Season 15 where they will meet the winner of NiP and Team Liquid.

ENCE – Movistar Riders 2-1 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Quarter-finals)

16-14 (Mirage) | DeathZz – 1.54 Rating / 26-16 K-D / 97.1 ADR

2-16 (Vertigo) | Snappi – 1.69 Rating / 16-9 K-D / 113.9 ADR

5-16 (Nuke) | Snappi – 1.86 Rating / 26-10 K-D / 113.8 ADR

MVP: Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer – 1.27 Rating / 54-41 K-D / 84.9 ADR